Differences
by COOKIECHEESEMAN
Summary: The Law of the Manakete states that you must find a mate and conceive an heir as soon as possible; human custom dictates that you must fall in love before marrying and having children. The problem is, Myrrh cannot satisfy either one of those requirements, causing guilt to eat away at her. MyrrhxSaleh.


Author's Notes

In this story, be aware that Myrrh and Saleh reached their A-support, meaning that Myrrh lives in Caer Pelyn after the game is finished. I assume she visits Saleh on a regular basis, explaining why she is in his house at the beginning of the story.

* * *

Differences

"The Law of the Manakete," Myrrh reads aloud. It is one of the many books in Saleh's library, and it was, in fact, actually written by her father, albeit millenniums ago. The book she holds in her hands is a mere copy of the original book, which was lost centuries ago, but the information inside is the exact same, word for word. It is to be used by humans as reference for worship, and yet it isn't supposed to be seen by the Manakete tribe, with the exception of the currently residing Great Dragon. The Great Dragon is, of course, supposed to be head of the Manakete, and to know how to reside over them and keep up the traditions of the tribe is their responsibility. That is the other purpose of the book.

When the book was originally written, there were multiple Manakete, and the assumption was that life would continue that way. However, the reality is that Myrrh is the last of the Manakete tribe, automatically making her the reigning Great Dragon. She had been groomed by her foster father, Morva, to become the next Great Dragon anyway, but now that the day has come; literally tens of thousands of years earlier than expected; she is not ready. Nevertheless, it is her duty to read the book.

Opening it, she sits in the chair next to Saleh's and starts reading its pages. Is it fascinating knowledge, and there are some very interesting pieces of history about the Manakete tribe; things Morva never told Myrrh about, and judging from the book's content, probably never would have. One particular passage referred to a male Manakete who married a human woman, and the two of them were treated as outcasts. And yet, the book acknowledged that no other Manakete held a deeper relationship with his wife than that one.

A big reason on why this is interesting is _because_ Myrrh is the last Manakete; the Law states somewhere that the Great Dragon must mate with the most suitable Manakete to secure the prominence of the species. However, with no other Manakete around, there is no one to mate with _except humans._ And it is also stated that the minute the Great Dragon learns of the mating requirement, they must immediately find their mate and, after the suitable uniting ceremony, preserve the Great Dragon line by conceiving the next heir. This applies to other Manakete as well; although they do not have a specific mating requirement, they must find their mate as soon as possible so they can procreate.

Closing the book, she folds the page beforehand so as not to lose her spot. She is forced now by the Law to find a mate, but who should she choose? The book says she must choose the most _suitable_ mate, but after spending so much time with humans, she knows she can't just choose that easily. The first person who comes to her mind is Ephraim, but he is happily married to the girl of his dreams. There is no way she could ever ask him to abandon such a happy relationship. She could not break his heart for something so selfish, especially after he risked his life to protect her many times during the War of the Stones.

Another choice that she thinks of is Dozla, L'Arachel's retainer, for his physical prowess, but he's travelling the world with his wife, and they have five sons already. Besides, as much as it suits Dozla, she doesn't think that a large beard would be very appealing for her (or any future children, for that matter) to look at on a daily basis.

And finally, that leaves Saleh, Myrrh's guardian. Saleh is unmarried, and with the recent death of his grandmother, has no other responsibilities. However, that does not mean that she can simply force him to become her mate. Saleh would lose the chance to eventually find love on his own.

So, her plan is to ask him, and see what he says. After the rejection, she'll ask him for suggestions on what her next step should be.

But when she does ask him, the rejection never comes.

Instead, he accepts the proposal without complaint.

The wedding is arranged for the next day.

* * *

The uniting ceremony of the Manakete is very straightforward; the two being united simply recite a few words about the responsibility of being connected to each other. However, the marriage between two people is quite different. There's a grand ceremony where you are publicly and legally bound as a couple, and then a reception where the couple and many guests celebrate the arrangement.

However, the biggest difference of all is the vows.

There aren't any vows for the uniting ceremony of the Manakete.

Myrrh realizes quite quickly, though, how serious these vows are for two marriage mates. In pure honesty, she never really paid too much attention to what the priest was saying at the few weddings she's attended, but she makes a special effort to remember what the priest says at hers.

And what he says is a bit... disturbing. Perhaps disturbing isn't the correct word, but something along the lines of making you feel guilty. The vows are prepared in advance, and the same ones are used for all weddings. And yet, there are very serious things being promised in these vows, especially one vow in particular...

_...to love and to cherish your partner, as long as you both shall live._

This is where the guilt comes in; Myrrh does not love Saleh, and yet she asked him to become her mate. Saleh does not love Myrrh... and yet, he agreed to become her mate.

"_I am your guardian and protector, Lady Myrrh. I would be honoured to fulfill this request for you," _he had told her when she asked...

* * *

After the ceremony and reception, Myrrh and Saleh return to their home, neither of them saying a word to each other. The silence on Myrrh's part is due to thought; she knows what her responsibilities are, but she cannot realize them. She knows that she must conceive her next heir once she is united with her mate, according to The Law of the Manakete, but according to human customs she regulated herself to, you should only do this when you are married to each other, _and you should only be married if you love each other_.

It is clear that the way the two creatures view these sacred bonds vary greatly from species to species.

"Why did you do it, Saleh?"

Myrrh finally breaking the silence surprises Saleh somewhat, but he recovers quickly. "What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?" he asks innocently.

"I learned a... harsh reality today," Myrrh clarifies, but it really doesn't answer the question. Nevertheless, she continues, "for the first time, I actually realized what we were getting into, once we recited those vows. Saleh... we're supposed to love each other..."

Saleh doesn't respond.

"If I had truly known... I would have never gone through with this. I wouldn't have even asked you to become my mate. If you really think about it... we shouldn't be married..."

Saleh holds his hand up calmly to quiet her down. "Are you... sad?"

Myrrh shakes her head. "No... but I'm conflicted. I'm being pulled by two different customs, but I can't comply to either one of them..."

The two of them watch each other carefully, with, once again, nobody saying a word. It isn't until Saleh finally sighs that he offers his reasonings on his motives: "Yes, it is true that we don't love each other... however, if I hadn't accepted your offer, where could you turn to find the mate you need to continue your bloodline? Someone you could... actually trust and feel safe with?"

Saleh hangs up his robe while Myrrh ponders his words. "And even if we don't love each other now... that doesn't mean we can't in the future," he continues.

These words startle Myrrh; she never thought of that. Of course, it can be possible for the two of them to actually grow to love each other. However, it won't be as easy as it sounds, not in the slightest.

Saleh goes over to his chair to sit, and Myrrh decides to sit on his lap in the chair. She fits easily due to her small stature. "At any rate, Myrrh, there is no way... that I could be bestowed the honour to sire a child with someone... as important to me as you. My goal as your protector... is to simply make sure you have the time to find a more suitable person in the future to receive such a blessing instead of myself when I'm gone..."

"No."

Raising his eyebrow, Saleh replies disbelievingly, "No, what? I should not be allowed to..."

"No," Myrrh repeats, louder this time. Watching her husband closely, she says, "I am your wife... and there is no one I trust more than you. You're the only one who should be allowed to sire a child with me... and that is my choice. I'm not going back on this. We will not have our child immediately... but like you said, we can eventually love each other. Slowly, but surely... and when we truly love each other, we'll fulfill our duties to each other as husband and wife..."

* * *

EPILOGUE

And so, Myrrh and Saleh slowly worked through their marriage, taking their relationship one day at a time. There were bad times, of course, but there were good times as well, especially in the later years. They would go on dates; they would slowly increase their physical contact with each other, such as holding hands; they even slept in the same bed after a while.

It wasn't until their three year anniversary that they consummated their marriage for the first time.

Regardless, they lived the rest of their days together in happiness. Every single one of their descendants understood that truth, and that allowed all of them to eventually find their own happiness as well. Eventually, The Law of the Manakete was updated to reflect this; for the betterment of the Manakete tribe...

THE END

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Author's Notes

Myrrh! What are you doing?! GO BACK TO EPHRAIM AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER WITH HIM LIKE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO!

This is for The Musing Airhead! If I remember correctly, she wanted me to write this because she was curious how these two could go together. GAH! WHY DID YOU DESTROY THE PAIRING THAT I SO LOVE?! Oh well. At least another Myrrh story is out there!

This isn't my usual fluff-fest, that's for sure. This is actually one of my more serious fics, and I think it's my longest one-shot to date. For the first time, I don't believe there is anything intentionally funny in the story, which is a stretch for me. But, I'm actually very proud of how it turned out. I just hope some people aren't against me pairing Myrrh with... anyone. (coughTomatocough) I believed it would be a lot more powerful for their relationship to grow very, very slowly at the end, and for both of them to acknowledge that in reality, there wasn't really a more-than-friends relationship there anyway. I hope I can make an impact on my readers with this one, because very few of my stories do anymore, not that that's a bad thing, though!

It was kind of weird having the first half (or more) of the story being dragon lore and other things, plus no dialogue whatsoever, but I like it. I hope you guys like it too!

Dozla and Ephraim are Myrrh's other supports, obviously. The bit about Dozla is a throwback to Beards, although Ephraim's isn't based on anything because obviously MYRRH should be the girl of his dreams. :p I WILL write another story involving Myrrh and Ephraim! Mark my words!

So, the poll has been decided! The story I shall eventually write a sequel for is... You Really Like Me? starring RoyxLalum! This one has been tied with Satisfied for a long time, until sometime after my last AGOH chapter. In pure honesty, I thought Satisfied would win, but you never know how these things go! I really think Satisfied deserves a sequel, and I think many people would like that as well, so I'll eventually write a sequel to that one too! Check my profile to see the results!

Lastly, my life is going to get quite busy for a few weeks, so unfortunately, no uploads from me for almost a month. I'll still be reading stories, replying to PMs, and writing reviews, so I won't be gone, just inactive for a while. Sorry guys! Look forward to chapter four of Faithful when I return!


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